Ōkami
by legi0nn
Summary: Some doors should never be opened, as secrets should never be revealed. Not even the greatest masters of China can stop the evil that is rising, except one. Crane's journey has been decided, all that is missing, is the final chapter - how will it end.
1. PROLOGUE

_**Notes;** After day dreaming about various birds as a summer vacation hobby, such thoughts brought me to write a story about Crane. This is also a Crane/Viper story, but you never know, I'm known for plot twists. My friend Paige knows for sure, yep (nod). So with no further ado, please enjoy, and I'd really appreciate plenty of constructive feedback from readers._

**P R O L O G U E**

It was cold, and damp, and the thunder roared and the clouds cried heavy tears. He was alone.

In a way being in solitude comforted him, but the droplets of rain that constantly fell upon his dungeon's roof said otherwise. He wasn't afraid, but disappointed that his own brother would betray the dynasty - betray their father. He was angry, furious that he hadn't seen the signs, hadn't seen the whole situation coming, but that's only part of the long term consequences of running away from the Tai Peng palace, one weren't able to keep tabs on his own sibling. Not that he used to care; he never did. But now, he had his regrets. When he ran away he didn't expect of becoming a custodian at a local academy, nor did he predict of ever being a part of a lethal group called the Furious Five. Honestly, he wanted to become a writer, but fate had other plans, apparently.

And now he lies in wait, in a rusty dungeon in his very own home - old home. The lamp that occupied the corner by his side gave him a bit of comfort, and warmth, and the scroll he scribbled on was running out of space. It was a mess; the scroll, but writing was the only thing he could do at the moment. Until it was time to die, if his brother is planning on executing him. Whatever the consequence, it _will_ be severe.

Or perhaps, maybe he's being punished now. None of the guards had bothered him, let alone give him a bit of company even if they were threatening him. It was nothing but pure silence, with the rain gently tapping, and the wind moaning with the storm. The thunder roared, and lightning flashed; he could almost see her face. The woman that he longed for, and after being stripped away from her, he can no longer go back. It was upsetting, but it was life. There are no accidents, as Master Oogway would say. Yep, totally. So he sighed, and continued writing.

"_I have, but failed you father. In fact, I've already failed your wishes as soon as I ran away from Tai Peng, from my home, from my family. It isn't surprising that Peng has decided to lock me up. I just hope that he'll change his mind about the Gate, or we'll be doomed for sure. I mean, I don't want to be stuck in this dungeon while the world is a hell hole. It'd be miserable, and loud. Very loud. You know how I hate the sound of swords clashing and the Terracotta Army fighting for their kingdom, but hey, look where I ended up. I'm one of the Furious Five, or was one of the Furious Five, before I was locked away_." He laughed, but settled down right after and cleared his throat, "_The important thing is, to not let Peng open the Gate. If you ever get this message father, I beg of you to summon up your strength and get out of bed. Times have changed ever since mother left our family, and it especially changed Peng. I have my regrets of not being able to guide him when I had the chance, but now, it's too late. I cannot stop him, but perhaps maybe you can. It is a simple favour I ask of you, and if you ever fail, at least you tried_..."

"Crane."

The bird master nearly squawked, his paint brush drawing a straight line across his scroll at the sudden fright of an abrupt call from a stranger. He set the brush down, and tried to look into his visitor's eyes. The voice sounded feminine, but he knew it wasn't Viper. The person before him was tall, bright, yellow eyes that glowed in the darkness of his dungeon. He almost thought it was Tigress, but the woman before him wasn't as tall as the Five's leader. Crane rolled his eyes at his mistake, "Furious _Four_ sounds more like it..."

"Excuse me?" His visitor seemed to take a step forward, and although her retort was sounded kind, Crane couldn't help but back into the damp, rocky wall of his dungeon. He turned his eyes away from her, beak touching the wall, and his breaths came in short. He couldn't concentrate, although he had been trained to. Crane hated to admit that he felt vulnerable without his other four colleagues, including Po who he had drawn very close to as a best friend. The panda always seemed to be in his own little world, and it made Crane jealous. He knew that Po sometimes felt fear, but he wasn't afraid to show it. Crane however, was afraid of being afraid. He was afraid of showing he was afraid and he couldn't help but cuss when he saw the smiling face of his old friend; Mei Ling as she removed her sedge hat and offered it to him.

"You'll need this," She smirked, handing Crane his new straw hat, and pulling off her cloak to reveal her green uniform, and her shinai that she often carried during her training at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy.

"What the hell Mei Ling!" Crane exclaimed with a whisper, placing the sedge hat on his head, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

The cat shrugged, turning and looking over her shoulder before she stepped out of her friend's dungeon, "Surprise." Then it was serious business, but the mountain cat still had a smile on her face, as she always does, "I've busted you out, now let's take you back to your real home."

Home, back to the Jade Palace. Crane returned a smile to Mei Ling, but it soon after disappeared as she turned to the sound of guards marching up to his cell. Crane wasn't worried about the guards, oh no, he pondered about the beginning. He went back in time for a moment, to when his journey started.

* * *

**D I C T I O N A R Y**

**Shinai; ** A bamboo sword.

**Lee Da Kung Fu Academy;** is the school where Crane worked as a daily custodian among training students. That is where he also met Mei Ling. Said location can be found in the Kung Fu Panda's short, "_Secrets of the Furious Five_".


	2. MESSENGER

**Notes; **_After doing some research on China's historical palace, I've decided to change the __**Tài Péng Palace **__(which is actually Vietnamese), to __**Epang Palace**__, with the probable meaning being the "Palace on the Hill", and is a real Chinese palace - go figure! No, it's all thanks to research. Anyway yes, without further ado, happy reading! Please do review, everyone likes getting reviews and I would like to know the reaction my story gives to its readers. Thank you._

**M E S S E N G E R**

A year had passed since after the defeat of Tai Lung, and China has never been more powerful than it was before. It took great care to mold the broken pieces of the Valley of Peace back to their original forms, but once the town was rebuilt the citizens were more than over joyed by the help of their saviors; The Furious Five and Po.

Peace spread like wild fire, but like all burning infernos, they were soon put out.

**PRESENT DAY, EPANG PALACE**

The palace on the hill was pretty much self explanatory; it was on a hill. The highest hill, just like the Jade Palace, that looked down upon its people and watched for any trespassers that dared terrorize the Tài Péng Village. Unlike the Valley of Peace, this village was inhabited by a large portion of cranes. Sure, there were geese, rabbits and even friendly crocodiles hanging about, but it was mostly cranes that ran the place.

The Qǐzhòngjī dynasty were the first to claim the Epang Palace and it's village, as it is said that the first Crane Emperor; obviously named as 'Qǐzhòngjī' was a traveler just like the great Master Oogway. However, Qǐzhòngjī loved the lost art, known as writing and the once unnamed village gave him peace in writing his scrolls. He also fancied the water falls nearby, and the mist that would roll in each morning before evaporating with a burst of rays from the sun. It was, his home. The Epang was later built on his favorite hill, and Qǐzhòngjī later moved in with his many brothers who had traveled far to help him build the palace. The old crane later died, leaving his beloved home to his single wife and a son who repeated the tradition.

To this day, the twelfth emperor of the Qǐzhòngjī dynasty sits in his bed, comforted by none other than the paintings of his deceased wife who painted beautiful cheery blossom trees in her lifetime. He wanted to smile, but he was too tired and week to do so, and despite the light weight of the painted scrolls he was holding, his tired legs gave out and he winced at how pathetic he must've looked if anyone was in the room. Emperor Shēng sighed and stared at the many paints on his bedroom walls, all from his wife. He pondered to himself, '_He reminds me so much of Y__īnghuā__, I wonder... where is that boy?_'

His thoughts was interrupted by the slamming of the door, and a very furious crane barging in. His son; Wúqíng. Emperor Shēng rolled his weak eyes at his son's dramatic entrance and made his feet comfortable under his twisted silk bedsheets, "What is it now, Wúqíng? Can you not see that your father is resting?" The old crane then chuckled and said, "Unless if it is about you finally hitting puberty, I'll be more happier to help..." He trailed off as the young avian gave into a quick frenzy, shoving many of the emperor's trinkets off a nearby wooden drawer before breathing heavily, robes hanging and wild eyes. For a moment, the emperor was shocked, and then put on a blank stare, "You're paying for those."

Wúqíng returned a crazed expression, laughing hysterically from his father's attempt at being a comedian. Honestly, being a tad bit weird was in Emperor Shēng's blood, he couldn't change the fact that he was down to earth and wanted to live happy before he died. His son however, was the complete opposite. Wúqíng leaped, and landed with a thud on his father's carved wooden chest. His wings flapped gently, and Shēng swore he saw a talon twitch. The young avian fixed his ebony sedge hat that had gone off center during a leap, and eyed his father up and down; the emperor returning a light chuckle, "Let's cut to the chase, _dad_." Wúqíng said, "I am, but asking you a tiny favor and you keep _speaking_ in riddles!"

"Because what you seek is dangerous my son," The emperor simply responded with a light smirk, "But I will tell you that I have told my secret to a bird, including your mother."

"Uhh," Wúqíng's wings seemed to extend out slowly, before they flapped back against his body again, "She's dead."

"Exactly," The elder crane chuckled, "Which is why you will never know where it is." Wúqíng was not amused, and gave his father a glare, but his expression seemed to make things worse and his father laughed just as hysterically as he did, maybe even insanely. It made the young avian wither. He never understood his father, at times. Most of times. It bothered him to death, but if he wanted to become emperor, he'd have to suck it up like a real Qǐzhòngjī would. Wúqíng huffed and descended from his father's wooden chest, he waited for the old crane to pay him some attention, but it never came and the emperor went back to looking at old paintings as if nothing happened.

Something dawned in Wúqíng's mind. Paintings, and his father did mention another bird. Another _crane_. He smirked, and for once, Wúqíng was proud to finally figure out his father's endless riddles, "Fēi knows, doesn't he?"

"If you mean _Bùnéng_ Fēi, yes." Emperor Shēng smiled, "But I assure you that he would not know." This confused the young avian.

"But you just admitted, _what_?" Wúqíng blinked his eyes and growled, "Cut the crap dad, and tell me a _solid_ answer."

"Fine." The old bird waved a gentle wing, "I told him..." He coughed, and Wúqíng took the chance to walk out and call nearby guards. The emperor, after weakly pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a sip, continued to finish his sentence, "I told him... in a riddle." He sighed, and although his words were directed towards his son, it felts as if the four walls were the only ones listening to him, "Power is earned, not taken."

He began to pray, "Great Budai, help my son find his way back home through these stormy winds." Shēng whispered, "I beg of you."

As the emperor continued to pray, Wúqíng, heir to the Qǐzhòngjī dynasty summoned up a messenger, a young geese, yet clumsy. The prince rolled his eyes and shoved a quickly written scroll to the smaller avian, "Find me Fēi. _Bùnéng_ Fēi." His face contorted into some what of a disgust, and Wúqíng snapped his attention at the messenger, "Find him." He said in a calm, yet commanding voice, "_Now_."

**THE JADE PALACE, BEFORE THE SPRING FESTIVAL**

A lot has changed since after the Dragon Warrior emerged from under his cloak, or from Po's chase, "fallen from the sky". The Valley of Peace seemed brighter, and not just because of the new, decorative lanterns that hung almost everywhere, but because citizens hung around more and away from the safety of their homes. Because, China was pretty much safe after the defeat of Tai Lung.

Psh, that's what everyone thought.

At the moment, the masters were having their usual evening dinner, but unlike any dinner they had to be in tip top shape for a rare, yet yearly occasion; the Spring Festival, celebrating the New Year together and with the town's folks. It was also a rare time where the citizens of the valley see their masters dressed in their elegant robes and be part of the crowd without having to sign too much autographs from fans. People were always distracted with other things during New Years, especially when the fireworks started, but for now, the masters were enjoying a warm meal prepared by none other than the Dragon Warrior; Po.

Like always, when Po served his forte was noodles. He could very well prepare other meals, but noodles was what the other five masters preferred. So, noodles for every rare occasion it was. Shifu even joined his students for a couple of good meals, and exchanged a few jokes that had everyone laughing. It was, but the peace that the Valley of Peace had been waiting for, and to think that such a peace can be taken away so quickly.

After the meal, everyone departed to ready themselves but after sneaking into their teacher's study and leaving a present. There were two boxes, and Shifu opened the first one, finding it to be peculiarly small and he chuckled at Po's written note beside the half eaten dumpling, 'You are free to eat.' the parchment said, and the red panda chuckled at the good memories. Then he moved onto the bigger box, and to his surprise, he pulled out a kimono, his size and very new. Unlike his old, worn out kimono, the new robe had a dragon design on it, scales various parts of the attire, and the head just resting on the shirt's right shoulder. The great instructor quickly looked at the note that had fallen out of the robe when he unfolded it.

'To Shifu, with lots of love,' it said, and continued on; 'From the Furious Five and Dragon Warrior.' His ears seemed to drop at the warm feeling of love from his students, then there was a sudden rapping at his door and Shifu sighed. He answered the door after quickly slipping on his festival kimono, "Yes, Zeng?"

"Master Shifu," the geese bowed and looked up with bouncing feet. The Chinese master raised an eyebrow at the bird's actions and asked, "Well?"

"A messenger from the Epang Palace has come to speak with you." Zeng responded, "He's waiting in front of the palace, sir."

It took only a moment for Shifu to absorb the information, and he pondered quickly why a messenger from the Epang Palace has traveled to the Valley of Piece. The red panda blinked his eyes and gestured for Zeng to lead the way, "Did this messenger say why he is he?"

A shook of the head was the geese's reply, and the two hurried off.

* * *

In all honesty, Crane didn't mind being the 'mother hen' despite the fact that he's a guy, but psh; who cares? He obviously didn't. He helped his band of merry friends in anyway he could, such as today. His first appointment was with Po, who he grew very close to as a best friend. The panda hadn't the idea of what to wear to the festival, let alone had the time to get cloth for a kimono, but it was quickly solved with a quick look in Crane's walk in closet, which was surprisingly packed with art supplies. Then very little clothing that were all concealed in a wooden chest in an inner closet. With a quick unrolling of a nearby fabric rack, Crane pulled out a cloth decorated with bamboo and draped it over Po, before making it into a fitting kimono that looked representable.

After lending the Dragon Warrior a great talon, Crane stumbled into Tigress' room after being invited in. He quickly tailored the tiger's bottom half of the kimono with precision and care, and stepped back to admire his work. He thought Tigress to be pretty, even without a skirt and just her regular pants. The tiger master smirked approvingly and bowed to the bird with respect, and Crane repeated the gesture.

Almost having forgotten about himself, Crane quickly slipped on his robe and fixed his sedge hat clumsily that only went off center again. After the tenth try he gave up and figured that the straw that it was made off was loosening up after much use. His bracelets seemed to jingle together as he made his way to Mantis' room. Then he paused, knowing that the insect needed no such help, as Mantis liked being the independent type that he is. Crane shrugged, and agreed that whatever dignity Mantis had left, he had better respect it, and the avian carried onto Monkey, who only needed help with polishing up his staff. Such a task was done after a nice chat and a cup of tea.

Crane slipped into Viper's room, shutting the door behind him with a gentle tug from his talon. He turned, sighing as he tried to fix his clumsy straw hat, "Hope you didn't think I'd forgotten about you... wow." He blinked his eyes and raised a brow. Viper rolled her eyes and groaned, dropping the paint brush on her already paint stained straw carpet. She had been curious, and decided to try writing her favorite poem on her back side only to fail. Her red rose bud clips seemed to wither as she saw the bird's expression on his face, "I know, I'm a _mess_. I tried tattooing myself to see how it'd go, and look at me now!" She shimmied at her failed attempt. With Crane still staring Viper pouted and started to slither towards a small bowl of water where she'd clean her tail off. She left a trail of ink on her way, but the snake didn't seem to care.

"What?" Crane questioned his idiot self more than his friend, "No, no! I mean... wow you look..." He tried to find appropriate words. Viper's black vest kimono was stunning, silk and the outline of a red dragon decorated the plain background. If anything, the snake looked gorgeous and the matching rose buds? Definitely. Viper was practically glowing in his eyes, or maybe it was just the lighting in the room? Whatever. Flapping his wings gently he grabbed a wet cloth from a nearby bowl and started wiping off the mess that Viper had made. Crane didn't mind cleaning, after all, Viper was only attempting to try something new. He gave the snake a comforting smile that was returned and Crane flipped the straw carpet on it's clean side once he had finished wiping away the ink off of Viper. The snake slithered back on the carpet and smiled. Crane picked up the brush with his talon, and with a gentle grip he held it over the box of ink.

"What poem shall it be this year, Viper?"

The snake beamed at her already chosen idea, "The "_Ancient Air_" by Li Bai, and dark purple please."

Crane tapped his sedge hat to center and gave Viper a look, "But you picked that last year."

Viper laughed, and it was music to the bird's ears, "I know, but I love it. There's just... there's just something about it, you know? So, come on, before the festival starts." She smiled again and made herself comfortable, and waited patiently for Crane to start. Shrugging gently, the bird master dipped the brush in an ink bottle and started scrolling down the verses. It didn't take him long, as he was halfway done, but then there was also the almost Celtic, yet still Asian designs that he painted over Viper's smooth skin.

"So what were you saying?"

Crane's eyes averted to Viper's face, "Huh, what?"

"You said you weren't wow'ing at my failure. I mean, I would... I _was_, but you wanted to say something else." She rose a brow of her own and waited for an answer. Crane shrugged, "It's nothing important, believe me."

Viper blinked, then chuckled before settling down, "If you say so, but I hope you don't regret it."

Crane forced a smile; he already was, and his klutzy hat was making it worse. "I won't." He lied. He turned back to painting Viper as he was almost done. Crane took a quick moment to admire his work, smiling as he read the verses on the snake's skin.

"_I climb up high and look on the four seas,_

_Heaven and earth spreading out so far._

_Frost blankets all the stuff of autumn,_

_The wind blows with the great desert's cold._

_The eastward-flowing water is immense,_

_All the ten thousand things billow._

_The white sun's passing brightness fades,_

_Floating clouds seem to have no end._

_Swallows and sparrows nest in the Wutong tree,_

_Yuan and Luan birds perch among jujube thorns._

_Now it's time to head on back again,_

_I flick my sword and sing_..."

"Hm, that reminds me!" Viper said suddenly, "Have you got enough space for it this time? You always write so big, and I keep wondering what he sings at the end." There was a sound of disappointment in her voice, and Crane forced on yet another smile. Viper was absolutely right; no space, once again.

"Well, it's a mystery," Crane said, "You tell me the last verse, and I'll write it down."

"Fine, how about..." The lime snake seemed to trail off, pondering about what would fit into her favorite poem. She snapped her tail after much thinking and opened her mouth to tell of her idea when Viper's bedroom door suddenly slammed open and Shifu stepped in. The paint brush that had been hovering above the snake's tail drew a straight line along the back of Viper's skin, as the result of Crane having been startled.

"Crane!" Their master beamed, in an unamused voice, "We need to talk, or should I say; we need to talk, Bùnéng Fēi of the Qǐzhòngjī dynasty."

Viper's eyes went wide, and the remaining masters that have been peaking out of their rooms to see the commotion gasped. Crane, frozen as a chill went down his spine dropped the paint brush he had been holding, and his sedge hat yet again slid to one side clumsily.

They were never suppose to find out.

* * *

**D I C T I O N A R Y**

**Epang Palace;** with the probable meaning: "The Palace on the Hill", is a real Chinese palace, being built by the First Emperor to serve as a replacement of Xianyang Palace; said to had been burned down by Xiang Yu (Hegemon-King of Western Chu).

**Qǐzhòngj****ī****;** "crane".

As for the character names, I'll explain them later on.


	3. TUNNEL CHASE

**NOTES;;** Before I forget, thank you **SgtAngel32**, **Master Crane**, and **The Loving Hawk** for your reviews! They're greatly appreciated and I'm glad that you're all enjoying my story.

**TUNNEL CHASE  
**

_He fidgeted slightly flapping his wings gently to rid of the nervous feeling that washed over him. The rest of the Furious Five including Po were by his side, aligned and occasionally giving him a worried, or strange glance that seemed to make Crane's fidgeting worse. It was finally, when he almost lost balanced and squawked, that Shifu snapped out of his questioning mind and faced his students. He gave Po a quick glance, being at the other end of the line and averted his eyes to Crane who was clumsily trying to center the sedge hat. Shifu sighed and rubbed his forehead, _"Crane."

"Y-yes, Master Shifu."_ The avian straightened forward, and bowed. A wing twitched, but Crane managed to keep his balance. The others stared, particularly Po who couldn't seem to avert his eyes off the other master. Crane sighed and stepped back, trying to keep a straight figure. He gave the other masters a quick glance and then turned to Shifu, _"I know, it's messed up, but I can explain."

"Explain?" _The red panda blurted and everyone seemed to take a step back at the sudden outburst, everyone except Crane. Shifu paced, his face contorted in a look of confusion with a hint of worry. The messenger was about to speak up when Shifu finally paused in his thoughts and sighed, _"All these years, and you didn't tell me that you were a prince? Why?"

_Crane glanced at the floor, then at Shifu, _"I couldn't." _Pathetic answer, _"Just to clarify I-I'm not... royalty, or an heir to anything. I was adopted, by the emperor."

"What?" _A feminine voice broke the conversation; her voice was soft, deep yet curious, _"How did you end up at the Lee Da Kung Fu Academy?"_ Tigress asked._

"I ran away." _Everyone asked in union, _"You ran _away_?"

_The avian nodded, shrugging with a slight chuckle that he knew wouldn't get him out of the situation, _"Is this really necessary?" _He gave the young geese messenger a quick glance, his faced contorted into a somewhat of a 'help me', gesture. Sensing the avian master's uncomfortable situation, the young geese stepped forward and softly cleared his throat, louder when Shifu started talking again. _"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt but emperor Sheng wishes to see his son immediately. It is quite rude to take your student away as it is New Year's Eve, the emperor knows, but the palace medics cannot predict how much longer the king can survive before he... w-well." _The small bird trailed off, he didn't want to finish, but unfortunately everybody knew of exactly the reason why; Emperor Sheng was dying. And Crane was beginning to regret his past actions. He glanced at Viper, who returned the gesture but looked away sadly._

_

* * *

_It hadn't taken long for Crane and Mei Ling to take down a few dozen guards, only because most of them were untrained. The bigger warriors, such as the crocodiles that had maces were a bit of a challenge against the shinais that the mountain cat had provided, but eventually the two masters won over the soldiers. Yes, Mei Ling took the occupation of a school teacher. That, and a double agent against Wuquing. Crane couldn't help but think about how he led himself to trouble, it was true that his adoptive father had been dying, but he never expected such a harsh welcome from his brother, Wuquing. He was lost in his thoughts.

The atmosphere was silent, the air quiet but comforting in its likely manner. They had to be stealthy challenged with a hasty escape. Crane and Mei Ling were still in Tai Peng borders, and they very well knew that they weren't safe just yet. They managed to slip past a few guards along the palace walls, and some came too quickly to noticing them. "I have a small boat under the bridge that should take us to the tunnels," Mei Ling said, "Once we're in we can finally talk amongst ourselves until we reach the Valley of Peace, otherwise I suggest we hurry up because it seems that your brother knows that you've escaped."

At the mountain cat's warning Crane snapped out of his thoughts and followed the feline's eyes towards a line of crocodiles marching out of the palace entrance, weapons in hand. Crane and Mei Ling quickly ducked under a supported roof and watched the soldiers exit out into the village. Then their hasty escape had been made into an even more challenging act when a few crane soldiers flew out, one turning their way and flying up and past them. Crane and Mei Ling quickly ducked, luckily going unseen by the avian soldier. The two masters slowly raised their heads from their hiding spot, Mei Ling's ears twitching as she turned to another door and out came the prince; Wuquing. Crane and Mei Ling ducked again and watched as Wuquing seemed to examine his surroundings, and took a quick glance at their hiding spot. They disappeared in a moment, going unnoticed and entered a dark tunnel where they kept a close eye at the bird prince.

"Guard the palace," Wuquing ordered to one of his guards, "And find Fei." Then he turned to a small group of soldiers, four in counting and all cranes. "You four! Come with me." Flapping their wings, the birds took flight and headed towards the direction of the tunnels. Crane was first to act, silently pursuing them with Mei Ling right behind him.

The reached the bridge, surprisingly from the help of Wuquing and Crane and Mei Ling gave each other another glance before they quietly hopped onto a second raft and paddled after Wuquing. There was a lantern perched just behind Crane, and he thought it would be best to extinguish the small, yet clear light once they entered the dark tunnel. He and Mei Ling could always follow Wuquing's raft, they just had to be sneaky in order to do so. The gently paddling seemed to go on for hours, but they had only entered and was already gaining great distance after the other birds. There was a feeling of unease in the tunnels, and a silent audible moan under water caused Crane and Mei Ling to pause in their pursuit. The first raft ahead of them did so too, and then they both continued after a moment of patience.

"Master, are you certain that the key is hidden in these tunnels?" A voice, one of the soldiers. Feathers seemed to flap irritably and Wuquing snapped, silently, however, "I'm trying to listen."

"Something seems to be following us." Another soldier said, causing Crane and Mei Ling to pause. The same uncomfortable groan under water interrupted them again, and something splashed beside the raft. Wuquing and his soldiers, alerted got up to their feet if not already like the prince. Everything was silent for a moment, and a soldier's sedge hat suddenly slipped out from its owner's head and fell into the water with a silent drip. The bird groaned, raising a talon and dunking it into the water trying to seize his hat that slowly drifted off the huge canal. Then, he suddenly squawked and fell in nearly tipping the boat if it hadn't been for the others' balance. Crane and Mei Ling shot up to their feet, having been alerted already they nearly came to the young soldier's aid until the bird's head peeked out of the water.

"I-I fell in!" He coughed, splashing about and climbing onto a small brick sidewalk within the tunnel. The prince rolled his eyes and sighed, while the rest of the crane soldiers silently snickered to themselves. For a moment, there was laughter, and a suddenly scream filled everyone's ears as another of Wuquing's soldiers fell in and didn't surface.

"Qi, Qi!" Wuquing desperately called, trying to find his warrior in the dark waters. This was serious now, "Dammit! Get off the boat, all of you!" A bigger splash erupted, and a sudden roar sent everyone fluttering except for Mei Ling. There, emerging from the waters is a dragon. A water dragon. It puffed out a tiny feather from it's gigantic nose and growled at one of the crane soldiers. Then lunged.

"We have to help them!" Mei Ling cried, and pulled out her shinai from it's sheath strapped behind her back. Crane couldn't agree more, and they both charged with all the speed they could conquer. The mountain cat landed on the dragon's back, and the overgrown lizard writhed trying to shake her off. Mei Ling growled and sunk her claws onto it's scaly skin and hung on. Crane spun, using his wind to create a forceful wind that whipped away the dragon's tail from the safety of its water home. The strength of a water dragon comes from it's tail, and when in the water it can propel itself like a jet, a critical hit if anything were in the way. As long as Mei Ling kept the reptile distracted, everybody else should be safe, and apparently, Wuquing just took the chance. Of course he hadn't been expecting his brother to lunge and come to his rescue. He didn't need rescuing, and could escape most challenges.

Wuquing lunged at his brother, and Crane turned around to hit a blow to one of his wings. He was stunned, dumb founded at first and as the pain started to settle in he flapped his wings to try and rid of it. "What are you doing?"

"What am _I _doing?" Wuquing slashed, and Crane spun to dodge the attack, "My business!"

"You and I both know that opening the Gate will unleash the Okami warriors!" The avian master tapped his hat to keep it center, and stood straight, "Wuquing, you can't open the Gate. Head my words, I spent my years in the Epang palace learning about the Gate."

Wuquing straightened as well, "Then perhaps you should tell me where is the Gate located."

"That, I don't know."

"You liar."

Crane shook his head, "I would never lie to you." His eyes suddenly widened, and Crane lunged at his brother, tackling Wuquing to a safe distance and away from the wriggling water dragon. Crane couldn't spot Mei Ling anymore, as he caught a quick glance of the beasts head, and he collided into a wall with the avian prince. A soldier came up to them quickly helping them up, it was the young bird that had fallen into the water from before, "Master Wuquing, we cannot hold the dragon much longer! We must find the key now!"

"I already know where the key is!" Wuquing snapped, his eyes averting towards the dragon's horns. He leaped, pulling out a blade from within his robe and slashing at the dragon's horn. The horn came free, but before Wuquing could retrieve a strong wind sent him spiraling towards his soldier. They collided and fell, and the crane looked up from his spot in the tunnel. "Fei!" He glared daggers at the Kung Fu master, Crane, who had snatched the dragon's prized horn in his talon and was flying off into another part of the canals, lantern in the other talon. A mountain cat followed him, along with another crane soldier, the two seemed to be fighting over who would get to the other crane first. They hadn't noticed that the dragon had slipped from everyone's grasp and was also after Crane.

"Follow him!" Wuquing screamed at his remaining soldiers, and he snatched another lantern from his raft, quickly in pursuit of his brother.

It was a wild goose chase, and Crane was winning. The dragon however, was gaining the smaller distance between them and it leaped out of the water and snapped at him, determined to not give up. Crane squawked as it managed to take one of his feathers and he turned into an intersection of the tunnel. Crane paused, out of breath he looked at his surroundings, there were three tunnels left to take and he didn't know which one. "Middle. It has to be the middle." He hesitated, and slowly, then quickly flew in the middle tunnel, dragon in pursuit.

Wuquing and his soldiers took the right as they turned the intersection, and Mei Ling and the female crane she had been dueling with took the left. What they didn't know that the tunnels all ended in the same lair; the water dragon's. Crane few higher in his new surroundings, careful to not pierce himself from the cave's stalagmites that hung from the ceiling. His hat kept tipping off center, and in the end he didn't bother fixing it. It did, however, fall into the water and out came the dragon. "Holy shi-" Crane's retort was overcome by the sound of the dragon's roar. Mei Ling made an entrance, and called to Crane. After catching the bird's attention she pointed at a small opening in the ceiling for her and the bird to escape through.

They turned, to the exit, when Mei Ling was tackled by the crane soldier she had been fighting with. They rolled across the rocky floor and Wuquing and the rest of his warriors poured in. The dragon was getting irritated. Wuquing sent a force of wind that sent Crane slamming against the rocky walls. The avian master coughed as a talon suddenly gripped his neck, taking the dragon horn from his talons, "You cost me a soldier, Fei." His brother growled, but Crane only glared daggers, "You cost yourself a soldier." He brought his talons up from under him, and grabbed Wuquing's that had the key. With force, Crane managed to throw his brother off and the dragon horn went sailing. "Mei Ling!" He called to the teacher, and the mountain cat gave a finishing blow to the female crane she had been wrestling with and quickly jumped into the water just as the dragon rose up from within it's abyss home. She used the beasts' structure to her advantaged and leaped at the very last moment, snatching the key that Wuquing had slashed from the overgrown reptile and caught Crane's talon as the Kung Fu master sent a great wind that sent the remaining cranes flying back into the tunnels.

Still determined, the dragon leaped again, snapping at the two who flew out of the exit and into the night. It roared, failing at its attempt and slowly, sunk into the water with a puff; its tail triggering a lock on the wall that sent a metal fencing closing down to the entrance of it's lair, just as Wuquing and his soldiers recovered from being thrown out of the cave. The bird roared, trying to pry open the entrance with it his talons, "Fei!" He screamed, angry, but also with a hit of worry, "You'll pay for this!" He stopped, giving up on trying to get in and turned to his soldiers, "Get a move on, find me Fei. Now!"

After hearing the angry commands from Wuquing, Crane and Mei Ling dropped to the grassy fields before them and they rolled on the ground; out of breath. After a few moments of rest, they were up on their feet again. "Crane, are you okay?" Mei Ling came to her friend's aid, and the bird politely waved her away, "Yes. Are you alright?"

The mountain cat nodded, giving the master a gentle smile, "Yeah." She breathed, pulling out the horn from her pocket, "I suppose we should get this to the Jade Palace."

Crane nodded, "I'm sure Master Shifu can hide it, somewhere." He shrugged, "I don't know." He flapped his wings, exhausted.

"There should be a village nearby, we can get a carriage or travel by boat." Mei Ling said, stuffing the key back inside her pocket, "Never knew that a dragon woke up during the night in those tunnels," She sighed, starting to walk. "Let's go." Crane nodded, and followed Mei Ling.

He might as well say it, "These coming weeks, are going to be labor."

* * *

**D I C T I O N A R Y**

**Wúqíng;** ruthless.

**Sh****ēng****;** ascend.

**Bùnéng F****ē****;** cannot fly.


End file.
